Registered Nurses in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,159
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$27,341
25.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,701
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$106,500
Kept after tax
$79,159
Worth in national money
$72,701
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays registered nurses a middle wage of $106,500, ranking 7 of 51 states and sitting about 9.17% above the national middle.
- Within New Jersey this is well-paid work. Of 490 occupations with published figures in the state, registered nurses ranks 84 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $106,500 the take-home is $79,159. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $72,701 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $110,100, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for registered nurses is $106,500, about 9.17% above the national figure and 7 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation New Jersey publishes a median for, registered nurses sits 84 of 490 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $79,159 for registered nurses, from $106,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $72,701. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $110,100 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,170 |
| This salary | $106,500 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in New Jersey | $79,159 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,753 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,487 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $99,970 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$18,630 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Jersey earn less than $106,500. The published range is $83,060 up to $135,170, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $79,159, from $106,500, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 84 of 490 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Jersey, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $72,701, the adjusted value of that $106,500 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 84 of 490 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for registered nurses in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $83,060 to $135,170. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $79,159 from $106,500. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 84 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $72,701 — the adjusted value of that $106,500 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 84 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $110,100, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $83,060 and the top tenth $135,170, so most people doing this work in New Jersey sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in New Jersey run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $72,701 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Jersey adds its own income tax on top — which is why $79,159 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in New Jersey is $110,100. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($83,060 to $135,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Jersey rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $72,701 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $79,159 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.